Fire District 2, 4 staff Cusick Fire station

CUSICK — The Cusick Fire Station was busy with paramedics and EMTs from Fire District 2 holding an open house Saturday, Nov. 15.

Fire District 2 Fire Chief Chris Haynes said the plan is to have the Cusick Fire Station manned as much as possible.

“We plan to have something in Cusick all the time,” Haynes said, meaning a paramedic.

Commissioners of Fire District 4 and 2 both voted to annex 4 into 2, although nothing has yet been submitted to the Pend Oreille County Auditor’s Office regarding getting an election on the ballot, Auditor Marianne Nichols said.

Fire District 4 commissioner Gary Frisque said Cusick is part of Fire District 4 and has been for some time.

“We started losing volunteers to man it, so we’ve been strictly staying out of (Fire Station) 41,” Frisque said. He said it’s been about a year since there has been a manned fire station.

Haynes said that it will be a balancing act between having paramedic coverage at the Cusick station and Dalkena, Fire District 4’s home base.

“We’ll be bouncing resources back and forth,” Haynes said, depending on need and availability.

Haynes said that after checking with their attorney, he learned voters from Fire District 2 do not have to vote to approve the measure, just Fire District 4 voters. If a simple majority of Fire District 4 voters vote yes, the annexation will be approved.

Frisque said Fire District 4 has been distributing information about the annexation, such as the pros and cons.

“A lot of people are for it, the ones we’ve talked to,” Frisque said. “There are some that don’t want to talk about it, of course.”

He said the commissioners are all for the annexation.

During the open house Saturday, a handful of free flu shots were given out. Haynes said that Fire District 2 bought about $1,500 of flu vaccine. They will go to people’s homes to give free flu shots in both Fire District 2 and 4.

Fire District 4 Fire Chief Robert Webber is out on medical leave, with Fire District 2’s Erik Gallanger serving as interim fire chief for District 4, Hayne said. Webber is expected to be out for another couple weeks.

Haynes said that Fire District 2 is looking at a $3.9 million budget for 2026, up about $1 million without a tax increase and without considering about $400,000 in taxes from Fire District 2. Most of its revenue comes from mobilizations and critical care transports, some from the Newport hospital and some from Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville.

In 2025 the district budgeted about $2.9 million in revenue, with about $508,000 of that in tax money. Haynes says that will likely approach $3.5 million before the year is out.

Fire District 2 also just submitted a bid for a 10-year contract to provide ambulance service in Stevens County, Hayne said. If that is accepted Fire District 2 revenue and personnel costs will go up.

Fire District 2 budgeted $2.4 million in payroll for 2026.

“It will be $3 million plus if we pick up Stevens County,” Haynes said.